Clay-colored Sparrow
Spizella pallida
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyPasserellidae (New World Sparrows)
- GenusSpizella (Spizella Sparrows)
- SpeciesSpizella pallida (Clay-colored Sparrow)
The clay-colored sparrow or clay-coloured sparrow (Spizella pallida) is a small New World sparrow of North America. Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a dark brown crown, a white line over the eyes, a dark line through the eyes, a light brown cheek patch and brown wings with wing bars. The short bill is pale with a dark tip and the back of the neck is grey; they have a long tail. Non-breeding adults and immature resemble chipping sparrows and Brewer's sparrows; they often form flocks with these birds outside the nesting season. Their breeding habitat is shrubby open areas and jack pine woods across central Canada and central northern United States east to the Great Lakes, and is expanding further eastward. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Clay-colored Sparrow sighting in Banff National Park, based on 153 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Banff National Park
Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina
Brewer's Sparrow
Spizella breweri
Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Lincoln's Sparrow
Melospiza lincolnii
Fox Sparrow
Passerella iliaca
White-throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis
Savannah Sparrow
Passerculus sandwichensis
Slate-colored Fox Sparrow
Passerella schistacea
American Tree Sparrow
Spizelloides arborea
Vesper Sparrow
Pooecetes gramineus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Clay-colored Sparrow in Banff National Park?
About 4% of wildlife watchers report a Clay-colored Sparrow sighting in Banff National Park, based on 153 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Clay-colored Sparrow in Banff National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Clay-colored Sparrow in Banff National Park in our monthly data.